No abstract

Leaf rust, caused by Puccinia recondita f. sp. tritici, is one of the major diseases of wheat in Kazakhstan. To effectively use leaf rust resistance genes (Lr), it is important for breeders to know the resistance genotype in current cultivars. In this study, 30 winter wheat entries grown and/or produced in Kazakhstan were investigated using molecular markers to determine the presence and absence of eight important Lr genes. Molecular screening of these genotypes showed contrasting differences in the frequencies of these genes. Among the 30 entries, 17 carried leaf rust resistance gene Lr1, six had Lr26 and Lr34, and Lr10 and Lr37 were found in three cultivars. Two single cultivars separately carried Lr19 and Lr68, while Lr9 was not detected in any genotypes in this study. Field evaluation demonstrated that two of the most frequent two genes (Lr1 and Lr26) to be ineffective. While Lr34 provided some protection, the remaining effective Lr genes were found only in few genotypes: Lr37 occurred in Kazakh genotypes L-1090 and Krasnovodapadskaya 210 and in the US cultivar Madsen; Lr19 and Lr68 were likely present only in Russian and Kazakh cultivars, Pallada and Yegemen, respectively. The highest resistance over three years of leaf rust testing was found in Kazakh cultivars, Karasay, Krasnovodapadskaya 210, L-1090, Arap and Yegmen, foreign cultivars Madsen, Pallada and the control Parula (Lr68). Data may assist breeders to incorporate effective Lr genes into new cultivars.

Tan spot, caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, is a serious foliar disease of wheat in Kazakhstan with reported yield losses as high as 50% during epidemic years. Here, we report the evaluation of a collection of 191 hexaploid spring and winter wheat lines for tan spot resistance and its underlying genetic architecture using genome-wide association study (GWAS). Our wheat collection comprised candidate varieties from Kazakhstan, Russia, and CIMMYT. It was genotyped using the DArTseq technology and phenotyped for resistance to tan spot at seedling and adult plant stages in Kazakhstan. DArTseq SNPs revealed high genetic diversity (average polymorphic information content = 0.33) in the panel and genome-wide linkage disequilibrium decay at 22 Mb (threshold r2 = 0.1). Principal component analysis revealed a clear separation of Eurasian germplasm from CIMMYT and IWWIP lines. GWAS identified 34 marker-trait associations (MTA) for resistance to tan spot and the amount of phenotypic variation explained by these MTA ranged from 4% to 13.7%. Our results suggest the existence of novel valuable resistant alleles on chromosomes 3BS, and 5DL and 6AL for resistance to Race 1 and Race 5, respectively, in addition to known genes tsn1 and tsc2. On chromosome 6AL, a genomic region spanning 3 Mb was identified conferring resistance to both Race 1 and Race 5. Epistatic interaction of associated loci was revealed on chromosomes 1B, 5B, 7B, 5A, and 6A contributing to additional variation of 3.2–11.7%. Twenty-five lines with the best allele combinations of SNPs associated with resistance to both races have been identified as candidates for future variety release and breeding. The results of the present study will be further validated in other independent genetic backgrounds to be able to use markers in breeding.

Pyrenophora tritici-repentis(Ptr) is the causative agent of tan spot, one of the yield limiting diseases of wheat, rapidly increasing in wheat growing countries including Kazakhstan. The aim of this study was the identifcation of wheat genotypes with resistance to Ptr race 1 and race 5 and their host­selective effectors (toxins) Ptr ToxA and Ptr ToxB. A common wheat collection of 41 accessions (38 experimental and 3 controls) was characterized using the molecular markersXfcp623andXBE444541, diagnostic for theTsn1andTsc2genes conferring sensitivity to fungal toxins. The coincidence of the markerXBE444541with resistance to race 5 was 92.11 %, and with Ptr ToxB, 97.37 %. Genotyping results using the markerXfcp623confrmed the expected response to Ptr ToxA; the presence/absence of the markerXfcp623completely (100 %) coincided with sensitivity/resistance to race 1 and Ptr ToxA. This demonstrates the reliability of the diagnostic markerXfcp623for identifying wheat genotypes with resistance to the fungus and insensitivity to Ptr ToxA. The study of the reaction of wheat germplasm to the fungal inoculation and toxin infltration showed that out of 38 genotypes analyzed 30 (78 %) exhibited resistance to both race 1 and race 5, and insensitivity to toxins Ptr ToxA and ToxB. Of most signifcant interest are eight wheat genotypes that showed resistance/insensitivity both to the two races and two toxins. The results of phenotyping were reconfrmed by the molecular markers used in this study. Sensitivity to Ptr ToxB is not always correlated with susceptibility to race 5 and is dependent on the host’s genetic background of the wheat genotype, i. e. on a specifc wheat genotype. The results of the study are of interest for increasing the efciency of breeding based on the elimination of the genotypes with the dominant allelesTsn1andTsc2sensitive to the toxins Ptr ToxA and ToxB. The genotypes identifed will be used in wheat breeding for resistance to tan spot.

Abstract:In Central Asia, stem rust (Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici) causes considerable damage, especially during growing seasons with high rainfall. Ug99 is a race of stem rust that is virulent to the majority of wheat varieties. To develop disease-free germplasm, wheat material was screened using the predominant stem rust races of Kazakhstan and tested in two nurseries; CIMMYT-Turkey and the Plant Breeding Station at Njoro, Kenya. A total of 11 pathotypes of P. graminis f.sp. tritici were identified in Kazakhstan from the stem rust samples collected in [2008][2009]. In particular, pathotypes TDT/H, TPS/H, TTH/K, TKH/R, TKT/C and TFK/R were highly virulent. Of the 170 advanced lines of wheat, 21 CIMMYT lines resistant to 5 aggressive Kazakhstani pathotypes of P. graminis were identified. A high level of resistance was observed in 11 wheat cultivars and advanced lines: Taza, E-19, E-99, E-102, E-572, E-796, E-809 (Kazakhstan), Ekinchi (Azerbaijan), Dostlik, Ulugbek 600 (Uzbekistan) and Umanka (Russia). Based on data obtained from Turkey-CIMMYT and the Plant Breeding Station Njoro, Kenya nurseries, out of 13 tested entries, 6 wheat breeding lines which were resistant to both stem and yellow rust and 10 wheat lines which showed high and moderate levels of resistance to Ug99 were selected. Using the sequence tagged site (STS) molecular marker Sr24#12, associated with Sr24/Lr24, seven wheat entries resistant to stem rust were identified. These results will assist breeders in choosing parents for crossing in programmes aimed at developing varieties with desirable levels of stem rust resistance in Kazakhstan and they will also facilitate stacking the resistance genes into advanced breeding lines.

Tan spot caused by the fungus Pyrenophora tritici-repentis is an important leaf spot disease in wheat growing areas throughout the world. The study aims to identify wheat germplasm resistant to tan spot based on phytopathological screening and molecular marker analysis. A collection of 64 common wheat germplasms, including cultivars and breeding lines from Kazakhstan and CIMMYT, was assessed for tan spot resistance in greenhouse conditions and characterized using the Xfcp623 molecular marker, diagnostic for the Tsn1 gene. All wheat cultivars/lines varied in their reaction to tan spot isolate race 1, ranging from susceptible to resistant. Most accessions studied (53 %) were susceptible to Ptr race 1. Spring wheat cultivars were more susceptible to race 1 than winter wheat cultivars. As a result of genotyping, an insensitive reaction to Ptr ToxA was predicted in 41 wheat cultivars (64 %). The tsn1 gene carriers identified included 27 Kazakhstani and 14 CIMMYT cultivars/lines, demonstrating insensitivity to Ptr ToxA. The majority of the Tsn1 genotype were sensitive to race 1 and showed susceptibility to the pathogen in the field. Disease scores from seedling stage positively correlated with field disease ratings. Of particular interest are 27 wheat accessions that demonstrated resistance to spore inoculation by Ptr race 1, were characterized by insensitivity to ToxA and showed field resistance to the pathogen. The results of this study will contribute to wheat breeding programs for tan spot resistance with Marker Assisted Selection using the closely flanking markers.

In three independent experiments in Turkey and Kazakhstan, winter wheat germplasm with variable degrees of resistance to leaf rust was subjected to fungicide protection. The yield loss of genotypes susceptible to leaf rust varied from 30% to 60% depending on the environment and severity of infection. Genotypes completely or moderately resistant to leaf rust also responded positively to fungicide protection, with average yield increases in the range 10–30%. This increase was observed even in one season without leaf rust infection. The main character affected by fungicide was 1000-kernel weight. There was stable expression of the magnitude of yield gain in resistant genotypes in different seasons, confirming genetic variation for this trait. Possible mechanisms of yield gain from fungicide protection in resistant genotypes are related to a positive physiological effect of the chemical used as well as a possible ‘cost of resistance’ to wheat plants. The magnitude of yield gain by resistant germplasm justifies its capture in breeding programs to develop varieties resistant to diseases and with greater benefits from the fungicide protection.

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (Pst), is an important disease of winter wheat in Central Asia. Stripe rust races contain diverse virulence/avirulence patterns and change rapidly. Therefore the objectives of this research were to: (i) examine current pathotype variability of Pst races collected from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and (ii) evaluate stripe rust resistance in leading cultivars and advanced breeding lines targeted to those regions. Analyses of 152 Pst samples showed diverse virulence patterns with avirulence to Yr5, Yr10 and Yr15 being common. Most of identified races are among the rare. Analysis of a mixed Pst population showed 10 distinct pathotypes with frequencies ranged from 1.2 to 8.7%. The virulence patterns ranged from least ‘31–1.5’ and X-1.5 to highly virulent ‘86 + E16’. Seedling evaluation of 62 genotypes using the 10 pathotypes showed variations for resistance. Bunyodkor and Barhayot showed resistance to all pathotypes. Five Yr genes were postulated. Yr1 in KR12-5075, and Yr6 in KR11-03 and KR12-5003 were postulated. Yr5 combined with Yr10 and Yr15 genes were determined in Bunyodkor. The wheat genotypes also showed different levels of resistance in adult plant stage under field conditions. Twenty genotypes showed <20% severity in both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The disease severity on several genotypes differed in this countries, suggesting different Pst populations in the two countries. Several resistant genotypes were identified, which should be further evaluated for release as new varieties or used in breeding programmes. Two resistant lines from this study were identified as new varieties in Georgia and Uzbekistan.